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Dan's Blog Change Your Passwords (Again!)
Dan's Blog Change Your Passwords (Again!)
Change Your Passwords (Again!)
Written by Dan Schaefer
Now that it’s February 9, it’s time to take down your Christmas tree, if you haven’t done so already. Personally, I take down the tree on January 1. I like to get it out of the way before all the Christmas bills land in my mailbox. There’s nothing worse than getting into a sour mood over money spent on Christmas and then have to look at the Christmas tree. I’m afraid the visual association will poison my mind and carry the sudden “Humbug” attitude into the next Christmas season.
And while you’re at it, you may want to think about changing your passwords on all your important accounts. I know I’ve mentioned this concept in the recent past, but now it’s time once again to visit this perpetual ritual. Changing your passwords often is a hedge against identity theft and other terrible disasters.
Just observe the following rules when changing your passwords:
- Make them virtually impossible to guess. A good example is XrK3$mitX2V128874. Don’t use your pet’s names. Don’t use any names, birthdates, etc. Make it truly random, except for the last 6 or so characters, as described in the next few suggestions.
- Write down your password list in two places. Keep these places separate, in case one gets lost in a natural disaster or is stolen. But, don’t write down everything . . . .
- Don’t write down the complete password. In the example above, I appended the characters “V128874” to the base password of “XrK3$mitX2.” Just write down the base password (XrK3$mitX2), and do not write down the last part. The last part (V128874) will be common to all your passwords. Should a burglar steal one of your password lists, he still won’t be able to use it, because you have the last part memorized. Again, make the last part random. The good news is that you’ll only have to memorize one random password.
- If your password list is stolen or comes up missing, create all new passwords at once.
- Do not use the same password for multiple accounts. Should someone “guess” one of your passwords, the damage will be contained to that one account only.
In a few months, you can run through this process again!
Some of the most common cases of password compromises come from:
- Passwords that use a common name or a conglomeration thereof. Something like “SteveEmilyRex” is a totally worthless password and will be broken in no time.
- Same password used for multiple accounts. Once a bandit finds one password, he can break into multiple accounts. How can he find all your accounts? If he breaks into your email account, chances are you have emails from your bank, your brokerage, your Facebook account, etc.
- Passwords were not changed often enough. Spy software on a compromised PC may allow someone to get one of your passwords. Generally, that person will not damage you right away; rather, he will wait and monitor your account until the time is right. This can take months. Should you change your password during that time, it may well derail the crime before it can be executed.
Be smart, select random passwords, and happy computing!
Dan
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written by veterankindergartenteacher, February 10, 2010
This is great information to have! I am glad I found your blog. I had my purse stolen out of my classroom once by a parent no less and what a mess that was.
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